Review: Semi Finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025

This rather late review is about the semi-finals of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12) which was broadcast on Wednesday night - except it wasn't uploaded to Now until a LOT later) Which is why this is late!

It covers various observations about the Semi-Final (the reality and the programme) including:

• The Semi Finalists (Heat winners)
• The Heat Portraits
• The Sitter setup and setting
• Themes of the semi-final
• Judging and Finalists
• Sitters for the Final

Dame Mary Berry sees the portraits after they've been turned around

The Semi Finalists

You can read all about the Semi Finalists in my post last week in my blog post last week about The PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists + their Exhibition!

They are - in order of the episodes (i.e. not the heats) as follows:

• Episode 1 - Edie Bound (Instagram) - review of Episode 1
• Episode 2 - Paulina Kwietiewsska (Instagram) - review of Episode 2
• Episode 3 - Katie Jones (Instagram) - review of Episode 3
• Episode 4 - Chloe Barnes (Instagram) - review of Episode 4
• Episode 5 - Lauren Ross (Instagram)- review of Episode 5
• Episode 6 - Uthman Wahaab (Instagram) - review of Episode 6
• Episode 7 - Vincent Stokes (Instagram)- review of Episode 7
• Episode 8 - Courteney Bae (Instagram) - review of episode 8

The Heat Portrait Wall

The Wall of Heat Portraits
Left to right: Katie, Uthman, Vincent, Courtenay, Lauren, Paulina, Chloe and Edie

Imagine walking into a semi final. You have absolutely no idea about:

• who your fellow semi-finalists are
• what they can do in four hours!

......and then you see the Heat Portrait Wall (see above i.e. NOT the self portrait wall or both together)

What you don't know as a semi finalist is if any of the others spent time and effort producing an absolute stunner for their self portrait - and then went small for their heat.

Then the artists line up next to the side of the support they're working on - and you begin to get the picture of what you are up against!

The Setting and the Sitter

The Nightmare Set-up

The Artists in the Semi Final enter the room
This is what it looks like - with easels very close together

I've been to a couple of Semi-Finals at the Battersea Arts centre - and it's an absolute nightmare of a set-up.

• Eight artists is just too many to be comfortable and have space to walk around, think etc. 
• Plus the audience seems much closer than in the heats
• Eights artists means ALL must be further away from the sitter than in the heats
• Some are going to have very acute side profiles - if working from life
• Notwithstanding some are going to be painting from devices rather than from the sitter.

Chloe Barnes summed it up rather well in her blog post about the Semi Finals (link further down - near the end of this post)

PAOTY 2025 Semi Final NOT on NOW!!! (Plus I identify who painted which portrait!)

Where is the PAOTY Semi Final on NOW?

I have NOT yet seen the Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year (2025)!!!

I'm fuming and have been since last night!  In this year's series, the episode has been available from the Wednesday morning - and on one occasion I watched an episode before it was broadcast. Now the ***** who posts early can't be bothered to post at all!

I'm posting this more in the HOPE that the Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year will EVENTUALLY be posted to the NOW streaming service for Sky TV.

Thing is I cannot write a review after watching it through once on Freeview - which is normally what I do - for the first pass on the programme during which I make some notes

I then watch it again at least twice to pick up the themes, add info and fill in the gaps in my notes and get quotes down correctly when I've heard something I want to quote but didn't quite get it all written down.

I cannot think of anything less likely to promote a service offering than messing up the end of a series by not posting it to the way people watch it.

BIG ADVERT: 

DO NOT USE NOW TV 

AS THEY PULL THE PLUG BEFORE THE END!

So until such time as it is posted, and I can actually write my review......

.....I'm going to guess who painted which painting! 

Who painted which portrait in the Semi Final?

I don't actually know who painted which artwork - I'VE NOT YET SEEN THE PROGRAMME!!

So here goes - using the pics of the portraits produced from Instagram.

I got these two straight off. They have very distinctive and consistent styles. 

Top right is by Chloe Barnes (Episode 4) who painted another monochrome on an aluminium panel. I like it. Both faces are good.

The bottom one is by Katie Jones (Episode 3) A few more wrinkles this time....

I'm guessing that both of these two got selected. The painting by Katie is in my opinion the best of the bunch and if she has been selected, then my my guess is she wins the Final next week.

Top left was - this is by Edie Bound (Episode 1) - who I would also put through to the Final. She has a strong and consistent style and can capture a likeness - and in this painting I think she's also captured the sense of fun in Mary Berry. The orange underpainting was the giveaway!

The next two took a bit more thinking about.

Top right is Paulina Kwietiewsska (Episode 2) who I got to through a process of elimination.

Bottom is by Lauren Ross (Episode 5).  The background colour was the first clue and then the flowers in the background and then how she has approached the painting of the portrait. Looks to me like she ran out of time to do the tonal variation in the fur of the dog.

Two of these were really easy.

Top left is easy. Who else paints women with large bodies and very small heads? This is Uthman Wahaab (Episode 6). Nice dog!

It should of course have been the wonderful Laura Cronin who was a wonderful portrait painter and it was a crime to not even shortlist her and her wonderful portrait of Shane Lynch. (That even got mentioned to me yesterday afternoon when I was at the PV for the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition. There's LOTS of people out there still feeling "miffed" for Laura)

Top right is Courteney Bae (Episode 8) - who has "a very distinctive painting style". I shall say no more.

The bottom is Vincent Stokes (Episode 7) who looks to me like he started with a good idea and then it all fell apart a bit.  Obviously I'm not seeing the whole drawing, but the subject of the portrait ALWAYS needs to be prominent in a portrait competition. It's also a tad too illustrative for me. Great basis for a proper portrait of her as a person though. Just not one in four hours.

The major comment I have on the paintings as a whole is that the big theme of this series for me is PROPORTIONS.

I shall be doing a summary of themes about Series 12 as a whole - including judging approaches and production values after the review of the commission.

I think it needs one....

The PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists + their Exhibition!

This is a listing of all those who have made it through to the Semi Final of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12). 

PLUS news of their Group Show in December in London!

PAOTY 2025 Semi Finalists' Group Show: "Marks of Reflection"

This year, seven of the eight semi finalists have organised a group show of their work ‘Marks of Reflection’ - details below - which is great news for all those who would like a closer look at their work!

I've only just noticed that they are all women apart from Uthman Wahaab. Very sadly Vincent Stokes is not taking part.

The basics are these. At the end of this post are more details about the nature of the exhibition - and the Panel Talk about Contemporary Portraiture.

The show will feature a selection of work featured on the show, as well as new, unseen paintings.

• Venue: Noho Showrooms, 67 Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PT (a three minute walk from Oxford Circus )
• Dates: 16th-21st December 2025 (11am - 6pm)
• Panel Discussion: 18th December 2025 with Kate Bryan and Curtis Holder

Portrait Artist of the Year: Heat Winners

Can I suggest you note the size of the heat portraits - there's an awful lot of small ones....

Episode 1

Self portrait and heat painting by Edie Bound

Edie Bound won the first heat to be screened in 2025. This was the profile I used in my review.

Edie Bound (Instagram) - b.2002 is originally from Wiltshire but now lives in South London. She did a foundation year at Camberwell School of Art and then chose to work at a ceramic studio whilst pursuing oil painting in her free time.

Edie being announced as the winner

This was what I said in my review of Episode 1

Tai-Shan thought the self portrait to be a little gem. Edie produced a very small but extremely competent self portrait. The orange carried over into her heat painting. It catches the eye like red but is much less wearing on the eye.

Tai was also a big fan of the minimal mark-making in the heat painting and the fact that, after starting out with the portrait upside down (to mark out the big shapes and tones) she caught the likeness very fast.

"I'm always impressed when young artists go out on a limb and still nail the likeness"

I thought she was very clearly the only artist to have a very good likeness from early one. The fact that her particular method of mark-making was not boring made the end result a racing certainty. 

Episode 2

Paulina Kwietiewsska was the winner of Heat 2.

Review: Episode 8 Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

This is the last of my reviews of the first eight episodes of Series 12 Portrait Artist of the Years 2025 which have covered the various heats - out of order - from this year's competition which was filmed in April 2025.

A reminder of just how big that PAOTY set-up is and why it stays in once place!

Thank you!

Before I start I have to comment on the number of people commenting on Facebook about my posts on my Making A Mark Page prior to my review posts being published.

The one for Episode 6 in which I highlighted the person I thought should have won got more than 50,000+ views and the one this week in which I again highlighted a very good artist (in the context of a very silly comment) by a Judge has almost reached the same figure (currently 47K views) in a much shorter space of time. 

Somewhere between 95-98% of the comments have erred on the side of NOT being complimentary about the Judges decisions about shortlisting. 

Plus more than a few comments about what they say. Several hundred actually!

Episode 8: The Sitters

The three sitters (top right) Tim Peake
(bottom left) Jack Rooke (bottom right) Reece Clark)

The three sitters in the eighth episode are all male and are as follows:

• Reece Clarke - a very tall Scottish ballet dancer who joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. He appeared dressed as Count Albrecht in Giselle
• Jack Rooke - comedian and writer who created and wrote Big Boys, a semi-autobiographical comedy for Channel 4 which has made him a four-time BAFTA Award nominee for the show, finally winning in 2024 for Best Writer: Comedy. He also campaigns with wit and candour for recognition of the mental health struggles of young people.
• Major Tim Peake CMG - a retired British European Space Agency astronaut, Army Air Corps officer and author who has been into space. He wore his training suit - complete with numerous badges - for the sitting

I must confess I'd only heard of Tim Peake!

Episode 8: The Artists

The Artists in Episode 8

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists.

• Lucy Ambler  (Instagram) - a commercial mural artist based in Suffolk. She likes using heightened colour and also uses coloured pencils on card - as for her self portrait.
• Silas Archibong (Instagram) - From Mbiabong, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, he currently studying for a Masters in Fine Art at Kingston University. He produced a self portrait which was split into his two identities of Nigerian heritage and a Jesuit student.
• El Barrett  (Instagram) - a conservation biology student from Surrey. She has been making art since she was a child. She now finds art really useful for when she draws the natural world as part of her studies.
• Courteney Bae (Instagram) - 1986 is a Korean-American contemporary artist who is the daughter of artist Sangki Bae. She describes herself as a "creative marketer" - but initially trained in Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, before gaining experience at renowned luxury goods brands. Now working in oils and gouache watercolour. She has won multiple juried awards and exhibited in New York, London, and Europe. Lives in Walton on Thames in NW Surrey. 
• Steve Cannon (Instagram) - An American artist based in Galway for the last 29 years. His self portrait contains a lot of detail in the reflection of the window in the background. He works mainly in figurative studies and paintings whether it be oils, watercolour or graphite and his main aim is to catch a likeness. He has regularly exhibited with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (I thought his style looked familiar!) and the Royal Hibernian Academy. After looking at his Instagram, I'd advise him to apply again, after he has worked out how he can do what he does best in four hours flat! Then practice. In the meantime, he had another go at Reece when he got home (see below).  I wonder how many other participants do the same? (also see below!)

My self portrait with a peace lily. (The photos should be a bit darker) It shows where I work. Packed with canvases, easels, paintings, plants and assorted miscellaneous bits and pieces.
A peace lily has a expected life span of 5 years. My little plant is 21 years old. It was a gift while in hospital after losing my leg all those years ago.
Me and the plant are both a bit worn, with crinkly edges, but there is new growth as well so not all is lost.

• Eugene Evans (Instagram) - A social care worker from Middlesborough. He has osteoarthritis (snap!) and used medical motifs in his self portrait. I cannot remember the last time anybody turned up to paint in a heat wearing a suit - but he looked very smart! He continued to finish his heat portrait of Jack when he returned home (see below).

• Han Guo (Instagram) - an artist living in Guildford who used to be an engineer. She trained at London Fine Art Studios with the Classical Atelier method. She enjoys the process of observing her subject and using the brush to capture her perception and understanding.
• Fiona Land (Instagram) - a former rowing champion from the Yorkshire Dales. I'm not including a link to Fiona's website as I only include links which are secure (ie. prefaced by https) . She participates in North Yorkshire Open Studios. I got the impression that she was very nervous and didn't do herself justice on the day. 

Painting is usually such a solitary pursuit so to have cameras, an audience and the 'judgementals' watching was a very different experience

• Lewis Meda (Instagram) - an aspiring Fine Artist/Illustrator living in Hampshire, England. He has trained with the Watts Atelier Online School since 2018 and is now a member of their Online Grading Team.

This was a blog post about "Filming Sky PAOTY Heat 8 with NELDA SALE" which I found on Courteney Bae's website blog. Nelda Sale is the Series Editor for Sky Art’s Portrait Artist of the Year. This includes this paragraph.

One thing that sets PAOTY apart from other competition shows is that we do not cast for character - artists get through to the heats based on merit. This is quite unusual for a television competition show which is often about casting for big personalities or dramatic backstories. I think this adds integrity to PAOTY as a competition however, it does present it's own hurdles. Many artists are rather shy and introverted or certainly used to working in solitude in their studio so to find themselves on a huge set (Battersea Arts Centre's Grand Hall) can be very intimidating. Therefore one of the challenges the PDs are faced with is to produce artists who are not comfortable on camera and can be monosyllabic in their answers (other shows go through a casting process where participants are often screen tested to iron out these things). Filming Sky PAOTY Heat 8 with NELDA SALE

Review: Royal Society of Miniature Artists, Sculptors and Gravers Annual Exhibition 2025

This week I'm visiting the Royal Society of Miniature Artists, Sculptors and Gravers (RMS) Annual Exhibition 2025 at the Bankside Gallery three times. 

• Monday night: to judge the Gold Memorial Bowl (the top award) with London art critic Tabish Khan 
• Tuesday afternoon: to attend the PV and Awards Ceremony - and meet up with artists and friends
• Sunday afternoon: to collect the artwork I bought on Monday night!

It's always a pleasure to visit this exhibition as this is an art society with some very enthusiastic members who absolutely love meeting people who like miniature art.

View of the entrance to the RMS Annual Exhibition at the Bankside Gallery

The exhibition is:

• AT: The Bankside Gallery Thames Riverside, 48 Hopton Street, London SE1 9JH
• UNTIL: Saturday 22nd November 2025
• HOURS: 11am - 6pm

I highly RECOMMEND this exhibition to

• anybody who is interested in miniature art - whether these are paintings, drawings or sculpture in a variety of media
• all those art collectors who, like me, are fast running out of space for new artwork

You can see my photographs of the artwork displayed in the cases in a dedicated album Royal Society of Miniature Painters - Annual Exhibition 2025 (58 items) on my Making A Mark Facebook Page. Taken while the glass cover was still up, these provide a reasonable view of the artwork without compromising copyright.

This year it also includes a memorial exhibit of 12 miniature paintings by the late Bill Mundy RMS HS MAA MASF who died in July this year.

Portraits by the late Bill Mundy (1936-2025)

Demonstrations

The RMS have always been excellent at providing demonstrations at their exhibitions of the materials and techniques used to produce their exquisitely small artworks. The remaining ones will be taking place between 12 and 5pm 

Thursday 20th Nov - Linda Kracht watercolour on vellum & Michael Coe watercolour on vellum
• Friday 21st Nov - Peter Hayton, watercolour on paper & Christina Hopkinson watercolour on Kelmscott vellum
• Saturday 22nd Nov - Claire Russell, Verre églomisé – gold leaf on glass & Jenny Musker VPRMS watercolour on polymin

How to paint miniature portraits - is a post is about the art materials, equipment and set-up used by an experienced miniature artist which I wrote a few years ago after watching one demonstration in an RMS Exhibition! 

The Exhibition

Things I noticed this year included the following

• there seem to be fewer landscapes - particularly those involving the countryside. Which is a pity as I am a great fan of those painted by Roz Pierson.  Maybe I could highlight that other exhibitions where I have analysed sales, I've also noted that landscapes sell extremely well as a subject!

Review: ING Discerning Eye 2025

Last Thursday I went to see the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition at the Mall Galleries - on my four art exhibitions on one day extravaganza! (The feet have told me not to do it again!)

The event celebrates a wide range of art media, from print to sculptures, from all regions across the UK. The exhibition celebrates small works, and so entries must have a maximum height of 50cm including framework

Three different exhibits of the six which make up the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition 2025

I've been covering the ING Discerning Eye exhibition since 2007 and every year it's a pleasure to see the huge range of small artworks hanging in the three galleries.

This year the open entry has been impressive and very big and you'll never ever see as much artwork in these galleries as you will in this exhibition!

Below you can find out about:

• The ING Discerning Eye Exhibition - and why it is different from any other exhibition you will ever see
• The Six Exhibitions - by six different selectors
• how to see the exhibition

(but not the prizes....)

About ING Discerning Eye Exhibition

All works must be within the maximum size limit of 50cm including frame.

Like most decent art competitions these days, it has

• a reputable backer The Discerning Eye is a visual arts focused educational charity. Its principal activity is to hold a rather unique annual exhibition
• the exhibition is sponsored by ING Bank. Hence it is known as the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition.
• offers prizes - including the ING Purchase Prize, worth £5,000. Awards will be given out to the winners in a prize giving at the start of the exhibition.
• been running since 1999.

The three key differences are:

• ALL the artwork is small
• the six selectors change every year AND each selector curates their own exhibition. In effect, there are six small exhibitions across the three galleries at the Mall Galleries by:
• two artists - 
• two curators
• two collectors
• The selectors are solely responsible for their own selection; selection is not by committee.
• Selectors can also invite artists to exhibit 
• The balance of their exhibit comes from selecting artwork via the open entry AND the selectors must choose at least 33% of their section from the open submission.

Personally speaking - having browbeaten most of the FBA Societies into understanding that if you are going to call something an open exhibition, then you need to have a very significant proportion from the open entry. (ASA regulation | The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code) etc.) They got the point - they cannot be misleading!

• I intially suggested two thirds member / one third open
• most are now near 50:50 - which has been a shot in the arm for all those with aging members who'd like to be able to paint less and need new members!

Sadly ING has not yet tightened up on their advertising of this art competition - and still need to address this.

More than 730 artworks by 529 artists have been selected from a staggering 6,500 entries, reflecting the breadth and vibrancy of contemporary British art.

REALLY?  All selected from the open entry???

Anyway - enough of important technicalities....

Members Preview  

I attended a Members Preview - which is a new venture by the Mall Galleries - and one which I very much hope will be repeated. 

Exploring Time - Tony Foster's watercolour landscapes at the RWS Gallery

There’s an amazing exhibition of very impressive watercolour paintings by Tony Foster at the RWS Gallery in Whitcomb Street. 

It's quite unlike anything else I've ever seen before in an art gallery.

For more than 45 years now English artist Tony Foster has worked in the World’s wildernesses - mountains and canyons, rainforests and deserts, the Arctic and the Tropics. Travelling slowly - on foot or by canoe or raft, and carrying his painting and camping equipment he makes his paintings in response to what he finds on his journeys.

“Exploring Time” in plein air painting treks through geological and biological time across various wilderness locations on different continents. 

This new exhibition presents over fifty watercolours painted en plein air over seventeen years, sharing the artist's reflections on the complexity of time and its impact upon the planet. Each includes notes from the artist’s experiences as well as maps and objects relevant to its location.

Divided into Geological Time, Biological Time, Human Time and Fleeting Moments, the paintings explore how time has sculpted and affected our planet. From Colorado to Tibet, the Galapagos and Cornwall, the works celebrate the wonder of nature, highlighting the importance of leaving areas of the world undisturbed.

A view of one of the basement galleries

His watercolour paintings painted plein air over 17 years are phenomenal. 

Some are of some absolutely amazing vistas in wilderness country. Some are of things he finds and records en route when trekking - which also record the small things in places in a unique way.

• You can see some of my photos of this paintings in my Facebook Post
• You can see a record of his exhibitions over the years on his website

The resulting paintings are a visual record of what he encounters on his journey: not just the landscape, but flora and fauna, notes, souvenirs and anecdotes.

A record of small objects - leaves, fruits, birds, eggs, feathers, twigs etc
found in a specific place on is travels

He also has an extraordinarily impressive CV of exhibitions across the USA and UK and coverage in articles by very many different publications. 

This exhibition will be embarking on a tour of the US from 2026 to 2028.

Approach to Drawing and Painting + Equipment

His approach to recording by drawing and painting what he sees is quite unlike virtually all landscape artists. This is his plein air method

He does not use photography or sketches but makes his paintings on site, often in the most difficult and uncomfortable circumstances. Sometimes a large-scale work (up to 8ft x 4 ft / 244 cms x 122 cms!) will take more than three weeks on site before it is sufficiently resolved to roll into its aluminium tube to be completed in his studio in Cornwall. 

Check out his painting equipment he takes with him 

Tony Foster's very lightweight painting equipment for very large paintings

Once he has found his painting site, he erects a makeshift board as an easel. When working in freezing conditions, he adds gin to his painting water to stop it icing-up. 

Events Programme

Review: Episode 7 Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 (Series 12)

You can relax - this is not like last week!

This episode of Series 12 of Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 is a better one with a number vying for shortlisting - although uneven in their contributions of both self portrait and heat painting.

Judging the artwork in Episode 7

Episode 7: The Sitters

The sitters for Episode 7
(bottom left) Jack Dee; (top right) Jacob Collier (bottom right) Fatiha El-Chorri

The three sitters in Episode 7 are as follows:

• Jack Dee - an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter, and writer known for his sarcasm, irony, and deadpan humour. He's now rated as a comedy legend. He brought his radio - obviously still a dedicated analogue man!
• Fatiha El-Chorri (b.1981) - a British comedian and write who was born in Hackney. Currently a rising star on the comedy circuit and television presenter on Channel $'s Taskmaster and Sky "Mr Big Stuff". She bought a family plate she was given when she got married.
• Jacob Collier (b.1994) - an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. He is known for his energetic live performances. He has won 7 Grammys and has 15 Grammy nominations. He brought three instruments with him.

I must confess I'd never ever heard of the two younger ones - but maybe I'm showing my age!

Episode 7: The Artists

The artists participating in Episode 7 of PAOTY 2025

All the artists are listed below alphabetically by surname - but are not differentiated between professional and amateur. The link to their main 'contact' site is embedded in their name and social media sites follow - if available.

The mini bio provided in the programme skips over some rather important information about some of the participating artists. As always I've dug around online, and these profiles provide more information than the programme does.

• Sarah-Lee Bailey (Facebook | Instagram) - from County Durham. She produced her first ever portrait to apply for the competition. It depicts her asleep with her new baby daughter, a doll and the family cat - all snoozing away!
• Hannah Broadhead (Instagram) - a professional artist who took part on PAOTY 2023 (painting Shirley Ballas). She graduated in 2007 from Staffordshire University and won her first art prize in 2017 (People’s Choice award Lichfield Art Prize). Her artwork was selected for the Royal institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition in 2025. Her practice explores observation and narrative. Her self portrait was a complex one of a full size self sat on the floor with her easel and art materials. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hannah Broadhead (@hannahbroadheadart)

• Joe Capps (Instagram) - a Literature graduate and practising screenwriter. His formal study stopped at A-Level and he is self-taught after that. His route to becoming a freelance artist has been defined by media exploration and stylistic refinement, culminating in a 2019 solo show, Atlas, in Kendal. He now lives in Edinburgh, where he enjoys engaging with local art groups and attending life-drawing sessions.
• James Isaacs (Instagram) - a designer and artist living in North London with his wife. Painting has always been a part of his life. During Covid he pursued portraiture and painted friends via webcam. When he's not being an artist, he's a multi award-winning designer and art director with 15 years industry experience currently working for on  internationally focused content and data driven music media.
• Hamley Jenkins (Instagram) - She is passionate about drawing and music and works as a live sketch artist in jazz clubs. In 2018 she began a residency at Jazz Live at the Crypt in Camberwell - and never really stopped!. She graduated from Bath College with a BA (Hons) in Design and Illustration in 1993. Her large self portrait was painted in just 4 hours.
• Bernie Liumako (Instagram) - a fine artist originally from Tanzania, now living with his young family in Llangollen in Wales (and somebody teach Stephen Mangan how to saw words which are Welsh! I cringed every time he said 'langollun')
• Nasreen Nazir (Instagram) - she works as a civil servant in London. She completed her self portrait using W&N Promarkers.
• Vincent Stokes (Instagram) - b. 1996 in Walsall in the West Midlands. He completed his BA in Fine Art (1st Class) from Birmingham School of Art (2014-2017); BCU in 2017, and achieved his Masters in Fine Art (Distinction) in 2018. He's a regular exhibitor in and around the West Midlanda, botably with the RBSA. He works on themes for a series of drawings - with many related to his personal life. I RECOMMEND you take a look at his instagram account!
• Millie Wilkins (Instagram) - An artist, illustrator and studio technician who has travelled and is now based in Cornwall. She did a 3D Design BA(Hons), Falmouth University and various short courses on portraiture and drawing for a graphic novel. She aspires to illustrate books and is working on some children's book submissions, represented by Gill McLay at Bath Literary Agency.

The 10 Most popular posts in the first million visits (Part 1)

One of the assets of this blog - which started 20 years ago - is there is a very considerable archive of past posts - some of which have been very popular indeed. 

I've just come across a post which highlights what were the 10 most popular posts in 2011 - after the first five years of Making A Mark. 

During this period I did regular "big projects" on specific topics - and these are reflected in the most popular posts

Below are the top five posts - with the links to each blog post embedded in its title.

Tomorrow I'll list the next 5 posts in the top 10

I've extracted a short piece of text and an image from each one - so you can get an insight as to what the post is about.

CAUTION: Given the age of the posts some of the links embedded in the post will no longer work as websites have died and been wound up.

1. 10 Tips for How to Sketch People

Drawing and sketching people is an invaluable way of developing a wide range of artistic skills.

I've been drawing people for very many years - family, friends, people in cafes and restaurants, life class models - and other artists. People often tell me how much they like the sketches I make of people I come across on my travels with a sketchbook - which I find a bit odd as most rarely have faces!

Cheers Boston!
(sketching fellow travellers at Logan Airport, Boston, USA September 2006)
8" x 10", pen and sepia ink and coloured pencils
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

2. Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques

Drawing Media:

• Pencil: He employed pencil for preliminary drawings and then combined it with ink. He often worked with a carpenter's pencil. He liked to press hard and often worked on wet paper.
• Pen and ink: Van Gogh had a remarkable gift for pen drawing and graphic technique.
• Most of Van Gogh's pen and ink and brush drawings (such as the one above) are executed first in pencil first. He then inks/bruhes over the pencil marks once he is happy with them.
• some of his pen and ink drawings are drawn without any preliminary use of pencil
• During his visit to Arles in 1888, Van Gogh discovered the reed pen (made from local hollow-barreled grass, sharpened with a penknife). It changed his drawing style. He created some extraordinary drawings of the Provençal landscape, including a series of drawings of and from Montmajour (east of Arles) , in reed pen and aniline ink on laid paper. The ink has now faded to a dull brown.
• The Van Gogh Museum is conducting research into pigments and drawing inks in use in the period 1888-1890 and comparing this to the inks Van Gogh used [UPDATE: See the Research Results REVIGO: Paintings - which also comments on inks]

Trees with ivy in the asylum garden, 1889
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, May-June 1889
pencil, reed pen and brush and ink, on paper, 61.8 cm x 47.1 cm
Credits: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

3. Composition - Principles of Design

This post forms part of an introduction to the elements and principles of composition and design and follows on from yesterday's post about the elements of design. 

It's an overview. More can be written about each and every principle - and has been!

• Good composition doesn't happen by accident. A quick reminder. The analogy which I find helpful for remembering which is which is to compare the elements and principles of art and design to the ingredients and method of a recipe. Cookery and composition have quite a lot in common!
• All the elements are ingredients - they are separate and need to be combined effectively to produce a successful outcome. Each ingredient gets to play a major or a minor role in the eventual outcome. This, in part, is dependent on the quantities employed and, in part, on the nature and intrinsic power of each ingredient (think garlic and chilis!).
• It's the particular way that they they are combined - using the principles of design - which enables a successful outcome. The same ingredients can for example be combined in a number of different ways (think of recipes for eggs!)

Observations about Wayne Thiebaud at the Courtauld Gallery

The major revelation of this exhibition is how Thiebaud's painting is as luscious as his subject matter. Many images of his work o date appear to flatten the profound surface textures contained in his paintings - but his brush marks are fully loaded and aim to impress.

I love Wayne Thiebaud's artwork on a lot of different levels and will always recommend that people go to see exhibitions of his artwork. 

Could be because I'm a bit of a foodie! Mostly it's because of how he visualises and draws and paints. 

Close up of "Pie Rows"

Wayne Thiebaud, Pie Rows, 1961, 

Oil on canvas, 46 x 66cm, 

Collection of the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. 

© Wayne Thiebaud/VAGA at ARS, NY and DACS, London 2025.

Image: Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark)

I got my review "knickers in a twist" trying to think about HOW to review the first ever exhibition of his work at the Courtauld Gallery in London after I first saw it last month - mainly because it was right in the middle of an exhibition opening blitz.  (I think I did five in just over a week).

Partly because I couldn't find my notes from the PV! (Then I finally remembered - they were digital! Thank you Apple Notes!)

Mainly because I've not written a whole lot before about why I like his work so much. There again there are these posts.... 

• my obit post An appreciation of Wayne Thiebaud (1920 - 2021) after he died age 101 on Christmas Day in 2021.
• More Wayne Thibaud: "This for you is my world to look at" (2019)

For me this is a bit of a click and salivate post! In all honesty written entirely for me - for looking at from time to time - rather than sharing with any of you - but you can look too! ;)

• and finally Wayne Thiebaud working on etchings (video) (2019) age 99!

So here goes....

Wayne Thiebaud at the Courtauld Gallery

This is very much a "one time only in your lifetime" sort of exhibition!

• It's not just the first ever exhibition of Wayne Thiebaud's still like artworks at the Courtauld. 
• This is the first ever serious museum exhibition of his iconic and vibrant still lifes of post-war American subjects anywhere in the UK. 
• AND it's taken over 60 years to get them here. It's probably going to be at least that many years before they come back again.

View of three of Wayne Thiebaud's works
- with "Cakes" in the middle and "Three Machines" on the right
Image: Katherine Tyrrell (Making A Mark)

We've occasionally seen examples of his paintings in the UK - but never a solo show and never of the subject matter for which he is famed and never so many!

This is what some of the newspaper reviews have said.
 

The New York Times called him “the Edward Hopper of the dinette tabletop”

I'm going to get the basics out of the way first.

After the Mall Galleries - where smaller art societies went next and why they're loving it!

Traditionally, there have always been some smaller and more specialised art societies and groups who exhibited at the Mall Galleries.  In recent years, the nature and cost of the arrangements for renting the galleries has changed significantly. 

As a result of which, these societies started looking elsewhere for places to exhibit.  

Two of these societies are:

• The Wapping Group of Artists (the "Wappers")
• the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers (the RMS)

and this post is about where they have gone!

Details of their current and opening soon exhibitions in 2025 are at the end of each section about the societies.

Note also that these are two groups of artists which love to give demonstrations during their exhibition! You can find out more on Facebook.

The Wapping Group of Artists 78th Annual Exhibition 

- at 340 Kings Road, Chelsea

Every Wednesday between April and September, whatever the weather, the Wapping Group of Artists meets to paint at venues along the River Thames - anywhere between Henley and the Thames Estuary. 

One wall of the ground wall Gallery.

I thought I'd lost the exhibitions of The Wapping Group of Artists. Except this year I saw notices about the exhibition and decided to visit last Friday when I was in Chelsea for a meeting.

Which is how come I came to visit their 78th Annual Exhibition 2025 at the 340 King's Road Gallery

I chatted to the people running the exhibition about how they liked it - and they were VERY enthusiastic about the new location!

• rent is much less than the Mall Galleries i.e. £3,000 plus VAT per week for 
• space over two floors totalling 1,178 Sq Ft
• see plan of gallery
• agents are Sloane Stanley who merchandise the space as a "pop-up shop/art gallery"
• the Wapping Group of Artists could afford to take it for two weeks - which is more days than most of the FBA Societies get at the Mall Galleries!!
• they're in an excellent location in Chelsea (just before the bend in the King's Road as you go west)
• their sales have increased since they started exhibiting here - I think they had sold nearly 30 when I was there. It proves that location is everything when it comes to passing trade. 
• The King's Road is very much a shopping location and those who come shopping here sometimes have bigger purses/wallets than others visiting other locations.
• That said, all the artworks I saw had very sensible prices - because they are all the size of plein air paintings - and certainly the red dots I saw on the wall indicated some of what had sold and they also had very sensible prices

New member Paul Alcock who was steward for the say
- standing next to the red dots of the sales.

Why you may ask are the red dots on the wall rather than on the wall where the  sold painting is hanging?

• This is because when you are running your own exhibition, you can let people take their painting away after they bought it. You then hang another "reserve" painting by that artist in its place.  So in effect they refill the gaps in the wall from sales with new artwork from reserve.
• The arrangement for the exhibition was:
• 20 members display 6 paintings - but make 2 more available to hold in reserve
• those who are Candidates for Membership can exhibit 2 paintings and have one in reserve.

It's not an exhibition which has a catalogue so much as a current list of what is on offer.

It also has a table of pics of all the artists in the show - showing them painting plein air "somewhere" along the Thames between Henley and the Estuary

The Exhibition has a table of great photos of each of its members 
- painting plein air on location somewhere near the River Thames

The exhibition has a simple (and very repeatable) approach to the management of the exhibition

• there is one paid member of staff only who handles all sales - for the duration of the exhibition. 
• Plus members and candidates staffing the floor and being able to answer questions.

It all sounded an eminently sensible arrangement to me! 

You can see a video of what it's been like here

It was also wonderful to see a Group which has been around for a long time, thriving at a new location.

Exhibition Venue: 340, Kings Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 5UR

Dates: 31st October - 11th November (Until Tuesday)  Open daily during exhibitions

Free admission | No booking required

Website https://www.thewappinggroupofartists.co.uk/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wappingart/

The RMS at the Bankside Gallery

The Annual "Art in Miniature" Exhibition of the RMS showcases (literally) over 500 miniature artworks from contemporary artists worldwide, using traditional 16th century techniques, as well as many new and innovative styles.

The RMS had a similar opinion of the new proposed rents for galleries at the Mall Galleries - and promptly decamped to the Bankside Gallery